Music Mondays: Christmas Eve Edition

It's Christmas Eve Day and I've got butter softening in preparation for a pie crust. The ham's in the fridge. There's brie and crackers for later this evening and Original Sin (I so love that name) hard cider for sipping. And right now, we're in the middle of another Bones marathon. It's a good evening. And here's my playlist for this week.

1.God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 

- Loreena McKennitt

2.
Happy Xmas (War is Over)
- John Lennon

3.
Christmas Even in Sarajevo [Timeless Version]
- Trans Siberian Orchestra

4.
I'll Be Home for Christmas 
- Sarah McLachlan

5.
Christmas Canon Rock

- Trans Siberian orchestra

Liebster Award (or Someone Out There Knows About This Blog)

I've been given (by Deana at My Thoughts on the Subject Are As Follows) a Leibster Award which is a little Blogosphere recognition for those of us who have under 200 followers.

(I actually think this is the second time someone's done this for me...and I'm pretty sure I failed at responding last time. I'm terrible, I know. In my defense, I was right (or even write) in the middle of the A to Z Challenge when that happened, among other things.)

Anyway. I digress. Because I can. I'm normally not a chain letter woman (and this whole thing does read like a chain letter), but since this is both writing and blog related (and I didn't answer the first one), I'm going to give it a go.

But I'm not tagging anyone else (though I will suggest that you click on some of the names under "Members" on the right hand side of this site and check out their blogs, if you haven't).

Because I can.


1. What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Would you think me terrible if I said that I didn't know? I've been pulling the cotton out of my brain for the last few minutes and, honestly, there's not a piece of advice in there that isn't something I don't feel isn't a.) so trite and well known I could have picked it up from a Disney movie or b.) I've learned myself through trial and error.


2. If tomorrow was your last day, what would you do?

Type faster.

And call my mom.


3. How old were you when you first truly felt love?

If we're talking fictional characters, I was 15 and he was Erik in Susan Kay's Phantom.

If we're talking real life, I was somewhere in my 21st year.


4. What is your favorite holiday and why?

It used to be Halloween, back in the halcyon days of my later childhood, when everyone and their father still dressed in costumes and on the night of October 31st the streets teemed with people.

But once you age out of trick-or-treating and find that the only thing adults really do is go to parties - and though you play at being an adult, you're not really that fond of most parties - it rather loses its thrill.

These days I'd say Yuletide. The Solstice. Christmas. I like the chill. I love the beauty of a world encased in ice. The reflection of a thousand fairy lights in the darkened windows of a room. This time of year eases my desire for sparkly, shiny things.


5. Do you believe in karma and why?

Not as such, no. There are a lot of terrible things that happen to people in this world (assault, rape, kidnapping, molestation, etc.) for no other reason than that the world is a random and sometime very shitty place. A true karmic ideal would suggest that they did something to bring that on themselves - whether now or in a past existence - and that doesn't sit right with me.

I do believe in cause and effect. That like can attract like. But that's really more common sense than anything. If you do something good for someone, you may very well get something good in return, though it's not a guarantee. Alternatively, if you harm someone, expect harm back, though that's also not a guarantee. Because the world doesn't work in black and white absolutes.

Music Mondays: Mental Funk Edition

This morning, I find myself, at least partially, still in the funk that took me over this weekend.

I'm not going to waste time complaining about it. I'm tired of hearing my complaints. And I have to live with me, so... At any rate, it's just a full fledged combination of things that are making me feel blah from lack of paying work to lack of holiday spirit to the weather.

It's just too bloody warm here. It's 9:45 in the morning and 52 degrees. The high for today is 65. It's December!

Now, I don't live in the tundra. But the average history of temperatures at this time of year is mid 40s to low 50s (Fahrenheit) during the day. And so far we've been above that. And after the long, hot, hellish summer we had, I'm just sick of it. (Oops. I'm complaining.)

When I moved to Knoxville from Middle Tennessee, I expected a slight increase in cooler winter weather. So far, I've been disappointed.

And due to all this, I really only have one song on my holiday music list this week....

Music Mondays: Where the Hell Is Winter? Edition

My plan for Music Mondays in December had been to post some of my favorite holiday tunes. But I'm having real trouble getting into the proper mindset of songs about winter cold and hushed, snow covered forests with the near 70 degree weather we've been having the last few days.

Though we've had a change up today - it's depressingly grey, dreary, and wet outside - the weather's really been putting a damper on my enthusiasm. It simply doesn't feel like the winter solstice is right around the corner.

Perhaps I just need to trudge forth, throw on some of my favorite tunes, and see if that helps change my outlook.

So, here's this week's playlist. It's McKennitt heavy.


1. Seeds of Love - Loreena McKennitt
2. Song for a Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan
3. Coventry Carol - Loreena McKennitt
4. Snow - Loreena McKennitt

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2.

3.

4.

Sausage and Cranberry Stuffed Squash

So, here it is, my confession: when I can't wrap my brain around more cerebral topics, I post recipes. (Or confessional pictures. Or both.)

Anyway, this is a really great seasonal recipe (cranberries, yum). And not a bad way to introduce yourself to acorn squash if you've never eaten it before.


Ingredients

2 med acorn squash
1 lb of sausage
1 large onion
2 cups of soft breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2-3 cups of dried cranberries

Step 1. 
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Wash and then cut each squash in half.
You'll need a very sharp knife and some decent arm strength (because the squash will get stuck on the knife).

Try not to cut yourself....

Step 2. 
Gut the squash halves. 

Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to pull out the seeds and stringy innards. 

Step 3.

Place the squash halves meat side down in a pan or on a tray. (I spray the pan with a no-stick spray before use.)

Cook the squash for about 40 minutes or until tender. (By tender, I mean when it's easy to poke a fork through the green flesh. Once they're tender, remove them from the oven and set them aside. Leave the oven on.)

Step 4.

As the squash is cooking, chop your onion and get your other ingredients ready.

Step 5.

Crumble your sausage, along with your onions, in a skillet. Cook until the sausage is done.

Remove from heat. Add the breadcrumbs, cranberries and eggs and stir until the eggs are well distributed.

Step 6.

(I hope you've been keeping an eye on your cooking squash.)

Spoon the sausage mixture into each cooked squash half and then pop back in the oven for about 20 minutes/until the sausage and breadcrumbs are lightly browned.

(To get a more thorough incorporation of sausage mixture and squash, scoop out the squash insides with a fork and combine them with the squash mix after it's been removed from the heat.)

Step 7.

Enjoy!

100 Words: To Hear A World

Via Stock Xchng

People say if you hold a shell to your ear, you can hear the ocean.

Amy has never heard the ocean through a shell. (She’s tried them all, from creamy speckled junonia and striking lightning whelk, to oyster and the iridescent pen shells that shimmered like the ocean water under a noon sun.)

But she has heard other things.

The hiss of flame, the gun burst crack of collapsing wood, screams cut short.

Always and forever, the same sounds.

Except today.

Today, through the dusky conch, she hears a voice, crackling and rough like a sea bird’s cry.

Help us.

---

For Velvet Vebosity's 100 Word Prompt: Listening

Music Mondays: Creepy Holidays To You

In the coffee shop yesterday morning, I was treated to the nostalgic melange of 40s and 50s Christmas music. In previous posts I've talked about how creepy mid 20th century music often sounds (part of that due to its appearance in horror movies and post apocalyptic games like Jeepers Creepers and Fallout 3).

Holiday music is no different. For some songs it's the instrumentals that give it a dark shade, for others it's the lyrics.

Think about it.... He sees you when you're sleeping / He knows when you're awake. So, I have some eternal watcher who knows everything I've been up to? How is that not creepy? And then there are the original lyrics to "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (which were changed at the urging of the Meet Me In St. Louis cast, thankfully): It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past... I still find the tune a little creepy, but that may just be me.

"Adeste Fidelis" ("Oh Come All Ye Faithful") also has a spine tingling vibe to it, though that's largely due to its use in a Tales from the Darkside Special.

My playlist this week consists of several spoofs of traditional music, some music played in a different key, and the one Christmas song I've always found creepy, no matter when or where it's used (see #5).

What's your creepiest holiday song?



1. Seasons of Belief - The Grither
2. I Saw Mommy Kissing Yogsothoth - H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
3. Away In A Madhouse - H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society
4. Christmas Carols in Minor Key
5. Carol of the Bells

1. 

3.

5.

Thanks to My Inner Seven Year Old

Some days, I just want to be Catwoman.

Music Mondays: Thanksgiving Edition

I have a conflicted relationship with Thanksgiving. When I was little it was all about the food and the company. And then I got a little older and a little wiser and a little more familiar with history...

I do think it behooves us to have a day set aside for gathering with family and friends. To contemplate what we're thankful for. To think on what we can change, what we can improve, how we can better ourselves, our world. (Whether or not people en masse will ever use Thanksgiving to do that is another question entirely and probably wishful thinking.)

I also think it betters us to not ignore our history. To not sugar coat it. To not continue to whitewash it.

The holiday we recognize today was created in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln; in the midst of a nasty war, he decided we should have a national day of thanksgiving and praise.

It is not, as depicted in children's books and grade school plays, a celebration of the coming together of the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people.

The actual history of that era is something else, something shadowed by conquest, by genocide.

That's something to contemplate, as we gather around food laden tables. And it's something to contemplate in our daily lives, because we are not, as some like to say, a "post-racial society." We need to learn from our history.



For me, in the current world, in the current economy, there's a lot I'm thankful for. A lot I'm trying to not take for granted. Here's my song list for this week. It's short. Simple.


1. Thank U - Alanis Morissette
2. Kind and Generous - Natalie Merchant
3. Simple Gifts - Yo Yo Man & Alison Krauss

1. 

2.

3.

The Runaway Wife

That's not a "once in a lifetime" chance, it's a once in several lifetimes....

My husband asked, "If you met the Doctor and he invited you to travel with him and you couldn't
take me with you, would you still go?"

Yes!"

When the Muse Strikes

Agatha Christie said, "The best time to plan a book is when you're doing the dishes."

Because ideas always seem to strike when you're least expecting them.

I'm prone to daydreaming while doing repetitive daily tasks, so most of my ideas seem to strike when I'm doing housework (which makes a really convenient excuse to stop doing house work), while driving (don't worry, I don't write and drive), and in the shower (I swear, I'm going to hang a small dry-erase board in there).

I've gotten to where I have multiple writing surfaces scattered around the house. Dry erase posters and a magnetic white board (filled with magnetic poetry) scattered along my office walls. A dry erase poster on the front door, a note pad next to it, and various new or half filled notebooks in the living room, dining room, and bedroom. (If I ever own a house, I may invest in that dry-erase paint. For my office walls, at the very least.)



Where do you get most of your ideas? How do you deal with the random Muse Strikes? (Notebooks, iPads, going retro with voice records?)

Music Mondays: New Chapter Edition

I am working on things other than myriad song lists. I've got some up and coming posts that are actually writing related (confronting stereotypes, handling criticism, more exercises) in an effort to bring this blog back into line with its description. Sadly, it's been one of those seasons where I can't seem to wrangle my thoughts into anything coherent.

To be honest, my work situation has shifted again and is just short of driving me bonkers. The job's been shaky for the last two years, though before this autumn I had some decent hope that we'd make it. Now, things are dire. And I waffle between wanting the company I'm with to pull through (because I really love what I've been doing these last few years) and wanting things to crash and burn so I can mourn and move on. (Though moving on in this economy will probably take a while.)

This limbo period is not great for my mental health and it's wreaking havoc on my creativity, leaving me with more desire to play in other people's sand boxes (getting married and raising children in Skyrim, saving Gotham in Arkham City) than my own.

And this leaves me even further frustrated since I feel that I should have the mental wherewithal to keep on with storytelling even as other things go to pot. (Which I've never really been able to do. So I'm not sure why I persist in insisting on feeling like I should.)

But, I digress. Here's this week's play list. All about new chapters. New beginnings. (Some a little more destructive than others.) Moving on. Second chances. I'm seeking motivation in music.

What are your go-to motivational songs?



1. Start Another Story - Emilie Autumn
2. Sunny Came Home - Shawn Colvin
3. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
4. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen
5. Second Chance - Shinedown

1.

3.

5.

Confessional: To Sleep, Perchance to Awake To....

It's not always true, but....

(Click the image for the full size.)

I look forward to going to sleep just so I can wake up and have coffee.

Music Mondays: Election Edition

It's that time of year again. The time of year my brain's screaming at me from different directions, wanting me to stay tuned to what's happening politically, wanting me to pull back into my shell and turn my eye toward NaNoWriMo. (Which, if I intend to participate at all, I should get a start on in the next day or two.)

I've made this blog relatively politics free. There's always going to be a taste of where I sit from the things I write, the perspectives I give certain characters, the analysis I do on topics. But, I don't discuss politics here. (And I'm not about to start. I get plenty of that on Facebook and in other forums.)



But I do have a playlist for the election week. And here it is.

1. Amendment - Ani DiFranco
2. Keep Your Eyes On the Prize - Joan Baez
3. Fight Like A Girl - Emilie Autumn
4. The Times They Are a Changin' - Bob Dylan
5. The River - Bruce Springsteen

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3.

5.

Music Mondays: Dead Man's Party Edition

Happy (Early) Halloween.

Were I having a party, these would be on the playlist.


1. Dead Man's Party - Oingo Boingo
2. Superstition - Stevie Wonder
3. This is Halloween - Citizens of Halloween Town (Nightmare Before Christmas)
4. Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
5. Transformers dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller....

1.

3.

5. 

Confessional: Dollies Dearest

As a kid, I tried to treat my dolls and stuffed animals with the greatest care.
Just in case they came to life.
(I didn't want them mad at me for mistreatment.)

Music Mondays: My Horror Movie Soundtrack

The spirit of October has possessed me.

I've turned the bar that surrounds my kitchen into a representation of the harvest and the dying of the year: woven black place mats, topped with a horn of plenty spilling brightly colored vegetables and a wicker vase of (fake, otherwise the cats would eat them) autumn leaves in brilliant bursts of yellow and red. Interspersed between the fall foliage are various types of skulls - goblets, candle holders - and napkins bearing the cameo style silhouette of woman with bleeding fang marks on her neck.

This week, I'm anticipating my annual viewing of The Crow, along with a few other horror movies (maybe Mirrors, Stir of Echoes and The Hills Have Eyes).

"Apocalyptic City" by Funshine21

And I've been thinking, if I were in a horror movie (or making a horror movie), what background music would I want?

In recent years, I've become very attached to the post-apocalyptic horror tale, a la The Stand or 28 Days Later. A world where the human population has taken a powerful hit, leaving most of the world empty and desolate.

A wasteland of silent cars and abandoned buildings. A world filled with the saccharine sweet scent of unmentionable things going to rot. A world that's so very quiet and so empty, you can't resist the urge to look over your shoulder to make sure you're truly alone. (Because we all know when things are too quiet, trouble is brewing.)

So here are selections from my horror movie soundtrack. What would yours be?


1. End of the World - Cold
2. In the Still of the Night - The Five Satins
3. Scavenger - Emilie Autumn
4. Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
5. Comfortably Numb - Collide

1.

3.

5.

Little Girl, Big Dreams

Now, for something new. It's Sunday. Why not have a confessional?

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be Indiana Jones. ...I still do.

Music Mondays: Horror Theme Edition

Last week's selection contained non-creepy songs that turn creepy in the right context.

This week, I'm onto horror movie themes. Songs that are creepy, no matter the context... I'm hoping they might give me a little creative boost as I meander through what's left of October and (hopefully) prep for NaNoWriMo. (Is anyone else throwing sanity to the wind this year and participating?)


And what are your favorite horror movie themes?


1. Boedicea - Enya (Theme from Sleepwalkers)
2. Halloween Theme
3. Tubular Bells - Mike Oldfield
4. Nightmare - Tuesday Knight (Nightmare on Elm Street 4)
5. Nightmare on Elm Street theme

1.

3.

 

5.

Music Mondays: Sinister Music Edition

The house is old and looks decades abandoned. In what was once the living room, the husk of a cigarette sits on the scalloped edge of an ashtray, guarded by two coffee cups. Were it not for the long dried coffee stains in the bottom of the mugs, it would seem the drinkers had just stepped into the next room. 

And perhaps they have... From upstairs, there's a hiss of static as a radio clicks on, followed by the lamenting cry of a violin. I say I'll go through fire...And I'll go through fire....As he wants it, so it will be...

There's something spectacularly creepy about music from decades past, specifically the 50s/early 60s. Well, when used in the right context. By itself, much of it is pretty sweet and upbeat but tack the songs onto a horror movie or post apocalyptic video game and they take on a much more sinister air.


I'm kicking off October (though I'm a week late posting about it) with some of my favorite creepy tracks encountered in movies and video games.

What are some of your favorite "not creepy until used in the right context" songs?




1. Jeepers Creepers - Martha Tilton
2. Crazy He Calls Me - Billie Holiday
3. Theme from A Summer Place
4. I Don't Want to Set the World On Fire - Inkspots
5. Sleepwalk - Santo & Jonny

1.

(This is Martha Tilton, not Billie Holiday.)

3.

5.

In Recognition of the Season

Around these parts, the shifting of summer into fall is heralded by a changing wind, the smell of woodsmoke, the goldenrod slant of sunshine through trees that are just starting to lose their leaves.

But for me, there's one particular, quite obvious, sign that the autumn season is at hand.

My TPMS light comes on for the first time in a year.

The tires say: "We caught a chill."

Music Mondays: 80s Nostalgia Edition

I got a little distracted this weekend and instead of driving myself to get back on track with all the writing and editing and cleaning I've not done over the last month and half, I wound up doing everything else, along with some nostalgic indulgence in the form of Transformers (G1).

And it kind of kickstarted an 80s soundtrack playlist.

What are some of your favorite 80s movie songs?


1. Transformers Theme - Mute Math
2. Take My Breath Away - Berlin (Top Gun)
3. Holding Out for a Hero - Bonnie Tyler (Short Circuit 2)
4. People Are Strange - Echo and the Bunnymen (The Lost Boys) 
5. Cry Little Sister - Gerard McMann (The Lost Boys)

1.

(Okay, I cheated a bit since this is the '00s movie version and not the original series.) 

3.

5.

Music Mondays: Autumn Equinox Edition

The days are already growing shorter, but after the 22nd of September, they'll be even shorter still, the sun steadily growing paler and weaker as we head toward the depths of winter.

We're in the death of the year. It's no wonder my thoughts turn toward somewhat nostalgic tunes.

What are your favorite autumnal songs?



1. November Rain - Guns N Roses
2. The Four Seasons: Autumn - Vivaldi
3. Yesterday - The Beatles
4. Silver Inches - Enya
5. Dust In the Wind - Sarah Brightman

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3. 

5.

Music Mondays: September Edition

 

This weekend gave me a little taste of what's to come: a quick, harsh rain storm followed by a cool front coupled with a breeze and the smell of woodsmoke on the air.

Fall is on its way in. And while I love the colors and shades it brings - violent bursts of color on the trees, the goldenrod shade of sunlight through falling leaves, lengthening shadows - and I can't say I'll miss some of the sweltering heat we've had this summer, I'm not quite ready for the descent into winter.

But the season does bring some good music to mind... Here's my playlist for this week.



1. Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day
2. Si Bheag, Si Mhor - Turlough O'Carolan
3. Here With Me - Sarah Brightman
4. Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
5. One By One - Enya

1. 

3. 

5.

Music Mondays: Labor Day Edition

1. The Battle For Blair Mountain - David Rovics
2. 9 to 5 - Dolly Parton
3. Working Class Hero - John Lennon
4. Maggie's Farm - Bob Dylan
5. At the End of the Day - Les Miserables

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3.
 

5.

Music Mondays: End of Summer Edition

Though the Fall Equinox is still a few weeks away, this last week of August has been the unofficial ending point for the summer season.

Everyone breathes one last hurrah with the Labor Day weekend - one more cookout, one more boating session, one more road trip - before heading back to school and delving into work.

So here's my official unofficial end of summer nostalgia playlist.





1. Just A Girl - No Doubt
2. Black Hole Sun - Soundgarden
3. California Love - 2Pac & Dr. Dre
4. Santeria - Sublime
5. Santa Monica - Everclear

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3.
 





5.
 

100 Words: When It's All Said and Done

Working out the kinks.

This week's fiction is a two-fer, written for both Velvet Verbosity's 100 Word Challenge "Relief" and the Trifecta Challenge "Heart."

---

Via Bob Jagendorf, Flickr.

“What happened?”

Ignoring the question, Eve poured coffee into Ana’s mug and trudged to the other side of the counter to deliver a bill, pick up her tips. By the time she came back, Ana had drained her mug.

Evie refilled it, shrugged. “We fought. He left.”

“You don’t seem too broken up about it.”

“Heart’s not it.” Evie swiped at the counter with a cloth that smelled like old cheese. “It’d been coming for a while. The last half-year has been like tearing off a hangnail. We weren’t even sleeping in the same bed. It’s good that it’s done.”

Music Mondays: Summer Drive Edition

We're drawing toward the end of August and my mind's been on those lazy, late summer days I used to enjoy before school started back. By the second week of August, I was usually in the 'tween state of mourning my summer holidays and (though I'd never admit it) looking forward to school starting up again.

And, at the same time, trying to fit in as much laying about and general lazy shenanigans as I could. That involved a lot spur of the moment trips with friends as well as some final road trips and mini-vacations with family.




1. What I Got - Sublime
2. Blind Melon - No Rain
3. Spiderwebs - No Doubt
4. The Way - Fastball
5. Drive - Incubus

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